This invention relates to repair of elongated, flexible perforated strips such as tape, film and the like, and more specifically, relates to a new and improved apparatus for repairing damaged sprocket feed hole perforations located along the edges of such strips, particularly motion picture film strips.
Motion picture film strips, as well as numerous other types of elongated, flexible perforated strips, include rows of perforations called sprocket feed holes along one or both edges of the strips and which are engaged by the teeth of a shuttle arm or sprocket wheel of automated equipment such as projectors to drive the strips through the equipment during use. It is not uncommon for the driving teeth to tear and damage the strip in the area of the sprocket feed holes, this being particularly true in the case of commercial film strips which may be shown many times a day over long periods, and in the case of educational films which frequently are shown by inexperienced projectionists in schools and the like.
In our copending application, Ser. No. 528,028 filed Nov. 29, 1974, there is disclosed a method and an apparatus for repairing damaged sprocket feed holes by laminating a narrow, elongated pre-perforated repair tape to the damaged areas of the strips. While the apparatus disclosed in that pending application performs its function in a highly satisfactory manner in most situations, there remains a need for an apparatus which will laminate repair tape to damaged areas of a strip with greater precision and accuracy than heretofore possible.